Proposed New Agreement on Waitara Endowment Lands

A new way forward on the future
of the Waitara endowment lands will be considered by the
Council tomorrow (FRIDAY).

A proposal being negotiated
between Te Atiawa’s post-settlement governance entity
(PSGE) and New Plymouth District Council provides for a
local bill, to be promoted by the Council with the full
support of Te Atiawa, which would see the iwi own some land
in Waitara and have first right of refusal on other land, in
addition to their treaty settlement with the Crown.

In
exchange, the iwi would support the removal of all statutory
trusts and restrictions from the Waitara endowment land and
any income and sale proceeds from the land.

At an
extraordinary meeting tomorrow (FRIDAY) the Council will
consider authorising the Mayor and Chief Executive to
negotiate and enter into a high-level heads of agreement
with the PSGE to advance the proposal, subject to the
Council’s Local Government Act obligations and other
statutory obligations.

Mayor Andrew Judd says the proposal
is the result of discussions between the Council, the Crown,
Te Atiawa Iwi Authority and the PSGE.

“The proposed land
transfer includes 34ha of land hugely significant in New
Zealand’s history, known as the Pekapeka Block. It was
here that the New Zealand Wars started over a dispute about
the questionable purchase of this land by the Crown,” says
the Mayor.

“This is a way for the iwi to have land to
stand on in Waitara and for the Council to be able to use
the proceeds from endowment land for the betterment of the
entire Waitara community,” he says.

The proposal
entails:• The Council transferring the title to 40ha
of Waitara endowment land to Te Atiawa, comprising 34ha
managed as park and grazing land on the seaward side of
Battiscombe Terrace (including Marine Park and the Marine
Park Motor Camp) and the 6ha Clifton Park. Management and
control of the land would remain with the Council, and
existing public access and recreational uses would be
preserved.• The establishment of a separate legal
entity that would include representation by Te Atiawa, to
have responsibility for applying the NPDC’s share of
income and sale proceeds from the Waitara endowment land for
the benefit of the Waitara community.• The Council
giving Te Atiawa a first right of refusal to purchase part
of Ranfurly Park and part of the Waitara Golf Course if the
Council resolves to sell these lands at any time.• The
PSGE supporting the removal of the out-dated legal
constraints on all Waitara endowment land and income from
the land, including rental and sale proceeds.• The
PSGE supporting the Council’s ability to offer
leaseholders the option to freehold their
properties.• Ensuring Taranaki Regional Council’s
contingent interest in the proceeds from the Waitara Harbour
Endowment is accommodated.

The 40ha land transfer would
include an undeveloped 6ha block zoned residential that Te
Atiawa could choose to have full control of and build on.
The balance transferred land would retain its public access,
with the Council continuing to administer it.

“The
situation for the public would be much the same as when the
fee simple title in Urenui and Onaero domains transferred to
Ngati Mutunga in 2005 – the underlying ownership changed
but the public use did not,” says Chief Executive Barbara
McKerrow.

She says if this proposal goes ahead, it would
end a process that began in 1992 when the Council first put
a local bill to Parliament to remove the restrictions on the
endowment land.

“It has been a long process but we are
close to having all the parties in agreement on the best way
forward, which can only benefit the wider community,” says
Mrs McKerrow.

“Once we have the endowment restrictions
removed the Council will be able to consider whether to
start a process of freeholding leasehold land – but for
now, all our focus is on this proposed new agreement
regarding the land and the local bill.”

Prime Minister John Key says Paid Parental Leave, the parental tax credit, the minimum wage and Superannuation will increase, while average ACC levies will fall, and more people will be helped in to home ownership...

“The National-led Government has focused on ensuring gains from our growing economy flow through to families and these measures demonstrate that.” More>>

The National Party Government has today revealed that the national environmental report topics for this year will, incredibly, exclude New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Green Party said today. More>>

ALSO:

Reports that German privacy laws may have contributed to the Germanwings air crash have prompted New Zealand’s Privacy Commissioner to reassure the public that the Privacy Act is no impediment to medical practitioners notifying appropriate authorities to a pilot’s health concerns. More>>

The settlement includes a $13.5 million payment the government made in June 2013, as well as land in the Taranaki region. The settlement also includes four culturally significant sites, the Waipakari Reserve, Te Kohinga Reserve, Te Ngutu o te Manu and Te Poho o Taranaki. More>>

Supposedly, New Zealand’s destiny lies in Asia, and that was one of Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s rationales for his bungled reforms at MFAT. OK. So, if that’s the case why didn’t Prime Minister John Key attend the state funeral on Sunday of Singapore’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew? More>>

The panel choosing the flag options has no visual artists at all. Now, I’ve kerned the odd ligature in my time and I know my recto from my French curve so I thought I’d offer a few suggestions before they get past their depth. More>>

ALSO:

In releasing two reports today, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has highlighted a number of significant problems with the way in which Police deal with people who are detained in Police cells. More>>

The complaints follow recent public allegations about GCSB activities. The complaints, and these public allegations, raise wider questions regarding the collection, retention and sharing of communications data. More>>

ALSO:

Professor Jane Kelsey: ‘As anticipated, the deal gives foreign investors from the TPPA countries special rights, and the power to sue the government in private offshore tribunals for massive damages if new laws, or even court decisions, significantly affected their bottom line’. More>>

Gordon Campbell: The myth of competence that’s been woven around Steven Joyce – the Key government’s “Minister of Everything” and “Mr Fixit” – has been disseminated from high-rises to hamlets, across the country... More>>